Council workers have downed tools on a project to create a new roundabout on Broad Lane leaving an unfinished mess. Officials ordered them off site after it emerged that a water mains running under the highway will need to be moved before work can continue.
The Council say they need to consult Severn Trent before they can complete the project to increase capacity at the junction near the former Woodlands Academy site. With no firm finish date, residents have been left in limbo and the scheme has been thrown into turmoil.
The delay is the latest in a string of setbacks to the project which initially included a flood alleviation scheme for Broad Lane. Earlier this year the Council abandoned that plan citing the cost of moving utilities. It’s also emerged that the Council didn’t have funding in place to support the project. Despite assurances that a new flood defence plan will be brought forward it’s unclear when this will happen.
Now councillors are demanding an enquiry to discover why the scheme went ahead without proper structural checks and consultation with utility firms.
Speaking on the situation Woodlands Ward Councillor Julia Lepoidevin said; “Our clear priority is to get workers back on site so this project can be completed. However, soon afterwards there should be an enquiry if the Council are to restore a shred of public confidence. Why didn’t they undertake a proper assessment of the site before starting work? What consultation did they do with utility firms and what will this lengthy delay cost the taxpayer?”
Fellow Woodlands ward Councillor Pete Male said; “This delay is the latest in a long line of problems with this project. There’s been a clear lack of planning and poor communication from the Council with other agencies and residents right from the start. There’s also continuing uncertainty around the future of a much needed flood relief scheme for Broad Lane. We need answers and we need them quickly.”
Woodlands ward councillor and Leader of Coventry conservatives, Councillor Gary Ridley said; “This project is an absolute fiasco - we need to know why it’s been managed so badly and why communication has been so poor. We’ve got no idea when this will be finished and what’s happened to our flood defence scheme. Residents are rightly concerned that the site, unfinished as it is, presents a real challenge for anyone with mobility issues.”